Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1887-11-15
-RoETlcAL.,
Menorlm sacrumn... |. !.

ut Richmdhd, on the 27th of eeto5ef. 1ss7.-
The author had just finished his work when,
On the 18th Of September, he died Suddenly Of
heart disease. Governor Fftzhugh Lee, of Nir-
ginia, representing the Monument Committee.
selected Capt William Gordon McCabe, of
Petersburg. the lifelong friend of the dead
poet, to odeliyer the poem.l- 3e,, -,y1
Great mother of great Commonweaiths a..
Men. called opr Mother State: .7ll sR 81
And she SO well has earned this name ;-4ri.,
That she may challenge Fate "a
To,snateh away the epithet -. -
Long given her of great, .,,t---., i,
First of all Old England,s oatpost6
To stand fast upon these shores, .-.-a
soonshe brought mighty harvest
To,a Peoples threshing floors,
And more than golden grain was piled
Within her ample doors
Behind her stormy Sunshine shonei
Her shadow fell vast and long, .
And her mighty ADMIRAL, English Smith,
Heads aprodigious throng .4,.
OF as mighty men. from Raleigh down,
As ever arose in song.
Her names are the shining ARROWS
Which her ancient quiver bears, 100, E.-
And their splendid sheaf has thickencd
Through the long march of the years,
While her great shield has been buruished
By her children's blood and tears.
Yes, it Is true, my Gountrymen, r, ~.
We are rich in names and blood, r,-
And rcd have been the blossoms
From the first Colonial bud,
While her names have bla&ed as meteors
By many field and flood. ~
And Us some flood tumultuous
In sounding billows rolled, .,o.,.5 g, ....
Give back the evenings glories
In wealth of blazing gold:
So does the present from its waves
Reflect the lights of old.
Our history is shifting sea
Locked in by loftyland
And its great Pillars of Hercules,
Above the shining sand,
here behold in magisty
Uprising on each hand.
These Pillars of our history,
In fame forever young. ~,
Are known in every latitude 81:
And named in every tongue,
And down through all the Ages
Their story will be sung.
The Father of His Country -
Stands above that shut-in sea
A glorious symbol to the world
OF all that's great aud free;
And to-day Virginia matches him
And matches him with Lee.
II.
Who shall blame the social order. s.s.s-..
Which gave us men as great Us these?
Who condemn the soil of t forrest
Which brings forth gigantic trees?
Who presume to doubt that Providence
Shapes out our destinies?
Foreordained, and long maturing,
Came the famous men of old;
In the dark mines deep were driven
Down the shafts to reach the gold,
And the story is far longer
Than the histories have told.
From Bacon down to Washington
The generations passed,
Great events and moving causes
We're in serried order massed;
Berkeley well was first confronted,
Better George the King at lastl
From the times of that stern ruler
To our own familiar days
Long the pathway We have trodden,
Hard, and devious were it's ways
Till atlast there came the second
Mightier Revolutions biaSe;
Till at last there broke the tempest
Like a cyclone on the sea,
When the lightnings bIazed and dazzled
And the thunders were set free
And riding on that whirlwind came .
Majestic Robert LeeI it
Who again I ask the question
Who may challenge in debate,
With any show of truthfulness,
Our former social state
Which brought forth more than heroes
In their lives supremely great7
Not Peter the wild Crusader
When bent upon his knee,
Not Arthur and his belted Knights
In the Poets song could be
More earnest than those Southern men
Who followed Robert Lee.
they thought that they were right and this
Was hammered into those
Who held that crest all drenched in blood
Where the Bloody Angle" rose.
AS for all else2 1t passes by
AS the Idle wind that blows.
s III.
Then stand up, oh, my CountrymcnI
And unto God give thanks,
On mountains, and on hiIlsides
And by sIoping river banks
Thank God that you were worthy
OF the crank Confederate ranks; -
That you VITO came from uplands
And from beside the sea,
Filled with love of old Virginia
And the teachings of the free,
May boast in sight of all men
That you followed Robert Lee
Peace has come. God give His blessing
On the fact and on the name!
The Sottth speBks NO fnvectiTe-
And she writes no word of blame;
But we call all men to witness
That VIC stand up without shame.
NayI send it forth to an the world
That we stand up here with pride,
With love for our living comrades
And with praise for those who died
And in this manly frame of mind
Till death we win abide.
God and our cOnscienee alone
Give us measures of right and wrong.
The race may fall unto the swift
And the battle. to the strong
But the truth will shine in history
#